Australian pedophile nabbed in Thailand

An Australian man, not allowed to leave his country because he
is on a list of child-sex offenders, has been caught in Thailand
and will be deported, Thai police said today.

Paul Thompson, 56, from Western Australia, was arrested on
immigration charges last Friday while leaving for Cambodia to renew
his Thai visa, immigration police said in a statement.

An application by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to have
Thompson's passport cancelled was received only after he had left
the country, an Australian Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman
said.

"The application [by the AFP] under the Passports Act was
received following his departure from Australia," the DFAT
spokesman said.

Thompson, who told reporters he was sentenced to two years' jail
in 1990 in Perth for "tickling and stroking children in a swimming
pool", was put on the Australian National Child Offender Register
and required to make regular reports the police.

Thai police quoted their Australian counterparts as saying Thompson
fled to South-East Asia using various aliases.

He came to Thailand in June after being denied entry to Indonesia
and Malaysia, Thai police said.

Thompson is being held in the Immigration Detention Centre, where
another Australian child-sex offender, Bradley Pen Dragon, is still
awaiting deportation.

Pen Dragon was released from a Thai jail on June 30 after
receiving a royal pardon from Thai King Bhumipol Adulyadej. But he
has not received any assistance from family in Australia to meet
the cost of his air ticket back home.

Thompson is expected to be deported to Australia within the next
week, officials said.

The DFAT spokesman said he was not aware of any immediate
charges in Australia against Thompson, although these would depend
on the local police authorities, including the AFP.

The DFAT spokesman said Thompson was receiving "normal consular
assistance".